About the gsp

The General Studies Programme (GSP) interfaces with all of ESA's programmes, and its main role is to act as a "think tank", laying the groundwork for the agency's future activities.

The objectives of the general studies programme are:

Contribute to the formulation of the overall ESA strategy;

Study the feasibility of new mission concepts ready for selection;

Prepare/demonstrate the case for approval and funding of new optional projects/programmes;

Support the evolution of ESA by analysing and testing new working methodologies.

A remarkable diversity of topics is investigated, running across the entire spectrum of the agency's activities.

Each study usually lasts one to two years, which is sufficient time for an in-depth exploration of each subject. 30 to 50 new studies are typically initiated during each cycle.

The GSP is organised around three domains:

Mission assessment studies: The programme performs mission feasibility studies, typically up to Phase-A level, which provide ESA member states and the scientific community with the necessary information for the selection of new mission concepts. These studies also serve to both prepare and demonstrate the case for approval and funding of new optional programmes. The GSP also performs ESA internal mission concepts assessments via the Concurrent Design Facility (CDF).

Interdisciplinary activities: The GSP enables unique opportunities for inter-directorate work, e.g., through the internal biannual Call for Study Ideas and the new activities resulting from it in each cycle. All GSP activities are characterised by their cross-disciplinary approach; proposals for new studies must involve representatives from at least three different directorates. As a result ESA staff members act as the main "discoverers" and "filters" of new ideas in the European space sector. GSP activities also reflect the views and suggestions of industry gathered through workshops, visits and hearings.

Strategy studies: The GSP's role is also to serve as a corporate "strategic think tank": the actions within the programme contribute to the formulation of the overall ESA strategy. It also supports the evolution of ESA by analysing trends and identifying potential issues, and by testing new working methodologies. In doing so, the GSP lays the groundwork for the Agency's future activities.

Industrial Policy

One of the GSP's objectives is to achieve a balanced participation between industry and experts in all member states. The majority of the studies are undertaken by companies of all sizes and by academia under the technical guidance of staff from the various ESA directorates. The success of the General Studies Programme is largely due to these non-ESA organisations.

Established and supported by the GSP, ESA's Advanced Concept Team operates a specific tool named "Ariadna" to facilitate access to the GSP for the academic world.

As ESA’s ɸ-week draws to a close, it’s worth remembering that the science and technology involved in observing our planet from space isn’t entirely for the preserve of experts. With a growing interest in the environment and the climate, there are plenty of opportunities for the general public to take part.

Access to space was in the spotlight at this week's Φ event which followed an ESA-hosted workshop on Europe’s emerging microlaunch services held in Paris, France for industry, investors and institutions.

In mid-December, twin discs will begin glowing blue on the underside of a minibus-sized spacecraft in deep space. At that moment Europe and Japan’s BepiColombo mission will have just come a crucial step closer to Mercury.

It may not be your actual Superman, but participants to ESA’s ɸ-week are certainly embracing some ‘superhero’ ideas for the future of Earth observation, including high-flying platforms – something between a satellite and an aircraft.

As ESA’s ɸ-week draws to a close, it’s worth remembering that the science and technology involved in observing our planet from space isn’t entirely for the preserve of experts. With a growing interest in the environment and the climate, there are plenty of opportunities for the general public to take part.

Access to space was in the spotlight at this week's Φ event which followed an ESA-hosted workshop on Europe’s emerging microlaunch services held in Paris, France for industry, investors and institutions.

In mid-December, twin discs will begin glowing blue on the underside of a minibus-sized spacecraft in deep space. At that moment Europe and Japan’s BepiColombo mission will have just come a crucial step closer to Mercury.

It may not be your actual Superman, but participants to ESA’s ɸ-week are certainly embracing some ‘superhero’ ideas for the future of Earth observation, including high-flying platforms – something between a satellite and an aircraft.

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It is time to prepare to listen to space. To celebrate the launch of the European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO), ESA’s Education Office challenges the amateur radio community to listen out to be first to hear the new spacecraft orbiting Earth.

ESA Education and the Raspberry Pi Foundation are delighted to announce that Phase 2 of the European Astro Pi Challenge: Mission Space Lab has begun. During Phase 1, we received a record-breaking 471 entries from 24 countries! Now, the 365 selected teams will have the chance to write computer programs for the scientific experiments they want to send to the Astro Pi computers aboard the International Space Station (ISS)!

Last week enthusiastic future engineers and scientists had the chance to participate in the ESA Academy’s inaugural Space Systems Engineering Training Course at the Academy’s Training and Learning Facility, ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium.

This pilot cycle brought together the 30 University students, representing 16 ESA Member States, with ESA current and retired staff, who, armed with a wealth of experience in Space Systems Engineering and Project Management, set about the task of divulging the rich and varied work of a System Engineer at ESA.